The safeguarding kit

The checklist: how prepared is your gym?

Appoint at least one safeguarding contact

Ideally more than one. People may feel more comfortable speaking to someone of a particular gender, age, or role within the gym. Anyone acting as a safeguarding contact should agree to the role voluntarily and receive basic safeguarding training.

Make sure your safeguarding contacts are visible

Members should know who they are, how to contact them, and what kinds of concerns they can bring to them.

Provide basic safeguarding training

Many countries offer free or low-cost courses through sports organisations, national governing bodies, or child protection organisations. There is a list of free ones further down this page.

Your safeguarding contact doesn't need to become a therapist — but they should know how to respond to a disclosure appropriately.

Have a written code of conduct or safeguarding policy

It should clearly explain expected behaviour, unacceptable behaviour, how concerns can be reported, how the gym will respond, and how confidentiality will be handled. There is a sample code of conduct below you can adapt.

Ask every member to read and agree to it

Including new members. Whenever practical, ask visitors and drop-ins to acknowledge the same expectations before training.

Talk about your gym's values regularly

Don't wait for an incident. Even a two-minute reminder at the start or end of class helps build a culture where everyone understands what is expected.

Know where to refer people

Keep an up-to-date list of local services: sexual assault crisis centres, victim support organisations, domestic violence services, mental health professionals, safeguarding organisations. lila.help covers most countries.

You shouldn't have to start searching the internet after someone has already disclosed.

Know what your first response will be

Every coach should understand the basics: ensure immediate safety, listen, believe, don't investigate, document, and seek advice when needed. That is one page long.

Review it once a year

Ask yourself: are our safeguarding contacts still appropriate? Do members know who they are? Are our policies up to date? Would a new member know how to report a concern today?

A sample code of conduct

Adapt this freely. It is meant to be copied.

We want our gym to be a place where everyone feels safe, respected, and welcome.

By training here, you agree to help create an environment where people of all genders, backgrounds, ages, identities, body types, and experience levels can train without fear of harassment, discrimination, or abuse.

What we expect. While training at our gym, I will treat everyone with respect; respect personal boundaries and consent; help create a safe and inclusive training environment; and speak up if I experience or witness behaviour that may put someone at risk.

What we don't accept. Sexual harassment or sexual misconduct. Bullying, intimidation, or discrimination. Unwanted physical contact or sexual comments. Deliberately injuring a training partner, hazing, or using training to punish someone. Retaliation against anyone who raises a concern.

If something doesn't feel right, please speak to one of our coaches or designated safeguarding contacts. You don't need proof to raise a concern — we would rather hear about it than have someone suffer in silence.

Our commitment. If a concern is raised, we will take it seriously, prioritise safety, treat everyone with dignity, respect privacy as much as possible, and respond in line with our safeguarding procedures.

Member agreement. I have read this code of conduct and agree to contribute to a respectful, inclusive, and safe training environment.

Name ⁠— Signature ⁠— Date

A sample club policy

A fuller document, for gyms that want a written procedure rather than a statement of values. It covers responding to disclosures of sexual violence, whether the incident happened inside or outside the gym, and regardless of when.

Core principles. Trauma-informed — prioritising safety, dignity and choice. Non-judgmental. Confidential within limits, sharing only when safety or legal obligations require it. Supportive, ensuring access to appropriate help and adjustments.

The procedure, in five steps:

1. Listen and believe. Listen without judging and affirm that they are believed. "Thank you for trusting me. I believe you. You're not alone."
2. Respect privacy and autonomy. Do not pressure the survivor towards any specific action. Conversations remain private unless there is a risk of serious harm, or the disclosure involves a minor and legal reporting may be required.
3. Offer safety options. In discussion with the survivor: adjusted training times, training only with trusted partners, private coaching arrangements, temporary separation from specific individuals, referral to external professionals. If the person named is a member, temporary suspension may be considered.
4. Provide support resources. On request or with consent, help connect them to crisis lines, trauma-informed therapists, legal advocacy, or medical support.
5. Document responsibly. What was disclosed in factual, non-interpretive language; actions taken; safety decisions made in collaboration with the survivor.

Boundaries for coaches and staff. Coaches are not investigators or therapists. Their role is to support and refer, not to assess credibility or gather evidence. Gossip or disclosure to other members is prohibited.

Free training

• Safeguarding in Sport — the Open University
• Safe Sport International — i-Protect courses
• The 8 Safeguards Framework — Safe in Sport
• International Safeguards for Children in Sport — a guide for organisations
• Safe and Inclusive Sport: Preventing Gender-Based Violence

Posters

Five free A4 posters to print for your gym, including one with space to write in your safeguarding contact. Posters for your gym →

There is no badge

Some gyms have asked whether there is a logo they can display. There is not, and that is deliberate for now.

A mark on a gym wall reads as this gym has been checked and found safe, whatever the small print next to it says. We would have checked that a gym filled in a form. Those are not the same thing, and the gap between them is carried entirely by the person who trusted the mark.

If a scheme like that ever exists here, it will say what is actually true — that a gym uses this checklist — and it will show what was and was not checked, on the badge itself.

You can register your gym in the meantime. Nothing is published.